Thieves are executing elaborate heists involving expensive AI equipment, employing intricate digital methods along with some rather cinematic techniques to steal millions in freight destined for data center construction sites.
According to a report by NBC News, more than $100 million worth of data center equipment has been pilfered since June. The culprits have utilized hacked accounts, fake driver’s licenses, and manipulated GPS coordinates to carry out these crimes.
The stolen items range from costly semiconductor chips and fiber optic cables to servers, copper wire, and even bitcoin mining machines.
This emerging wave of crime coincides with companies investing billions to rapidly create data centers capable of supporting AI technologies. Since 2025, nearly two dozen cargo theft incidents have been reported across various states, including California, Texas, and Utah.
Keith Lewis, who heads operations at cargo theft risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet, remarked to NBC News, “It’s like stealing pure gold bars. It’s so much easier to steal this than to rob a bank.”
According to the report, criminals are breaching the accounts of freight brokers on shipment-listing sites to create fake load listings intended to attract genuine trucking companies. When shippers respond, the thieves dispatch malicious links that install software to takeover company accounts and bid on legitimate shipments.
The criminals subsequently recruit unsuspecting truckers or use phony driver’s licenses to hire accomplices who, unwittingly, help transport the stolen goods. In the end, the cargo is handed off to a driver colluding with the thieves, allowing them to resell the equipment. Some have even manipulated tracking coordinates to mislead monitoring systems.
An example includes two shipments stolen in Illinois, worth an estimated $300,000 in copper wire and about $1 million in custom-made modular power equipment for data centers, as reported by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Some of the largest thefts still remain unsolved, with thieves adopting Hollywood-style tactics. One notable incident involved a trailer loaded with several hundred pounds of computer server equipment worth $13 million, which was on its way to Fayetteville, Georgia, where a significant data center construction project is underway.
In an orchestrated event, an unmarked sedan collided with two off-duty police officers escorting the shipment, diverting their attention while the thieves made off with the cargo. Gerardo Pachuca, a private investigator who once worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Los Angeles County, stated, “The accident was not an accident. The bad guys wanted that load, so they intentionally took out the escorts.”
In another case, an SUV rammed into a security vehicle escorting a shipment from California to Texas that carried server rack components valued around $10 million, allowing the thieves’ trailer to escape, according to the report.
Investigators suspect that tracking coordinates were manipulated during this incident as well, limiting their ability to track down the shipment.
Interestingly, some of the stolen shipments comprised a variety of goods, suggesting that not only AI companies are falling victim to these crimes. For instance, one case handled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department involved the recovery of cooling equipment for data centers along with nicotine pouches, televisions, shoes, printers, speakers, and skincare products.
Experts are noting that these crimes illustrate how thieves have evolved their tactics amid the AI boom. Criminals are not just opportunists anymore; they are infiltrating email accounts to locate valuable shipments, rerouting deliveries, disrupting GPS tracking, and even leveraging AI to create fake identification.
“That’s how most of it is being done,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Pantoja commented.
Once they have the stolen items in their possession, these criminals utilize a chop-shop method to offload the loot, dismantling shipments and selling individual components through gray markets to tech firms looking for bargains on AI equipment. Some of the stolen items are reportedly being shipped overseas, especially to China, where access to top U.S. technologies might be limited.
In response, lawmakers are looking into measures to combat overseas theft rings, and states are forming specialized task forces to track stolen shipments. Scott Cornell, chair of TAPA Americas, a nonprofit organization focused on supply chain security, pointed out that “the only way this works is if the drivers are not properly vetted.”
